Platte River

Platte River. . , Eastbound travelers will soon cross the Platte River, which has paralleled the Interstate across most of Nebraska. It has long been noted for its great width and shallow depth. The Platte is a major tributary of the Missouri River, which it flows twenty five miles east of here. In recent years, the amount of water reaching the Missouri has been diminished, due to the increased demand for it in agricultural irrigation., A short distance above the Platte River bridge, the river is joined by Salt Creek, a small stream whose saline qualities were first recorded by the French in 1718. A site at the mouth of Salt Creek was the home of several different Indian groups over a period of 700 years. Archeological excavations and radio carbon dating give evidence that it was settled by an agrarian people as early as 1000 A.D. Most recently, it was utilized by the Oto Indians, as French explorers recorded their presence here in 1718, though the village was abandoned before 1800. Other pre-historic houses and village sites within a few miles were settled as early as 1000 AD. The presence of the saline deposits made the area especially attractive to both Indian and white. White homesteaders began to take possession of the land as early as 1854.